Detron Lewis (TTU) looks like a smaller version of Andre Johnson, IMO.

Great hands. Good balance. Muscular frame.

Silver Oak

01-02-2010, 10:04 PM

anyone else think it was inappropriate of the ESPN announcer to call Leach "quirky"? I'm not a Leach fan, I just thought it was incorrect.

with Craig James being a co-worker, I think they should have stayed away from the personal side of the issue.

GP

01-02-2010, 10:21 PM

That's why I say "He's on the short end of the stick..."

Life is a shark tank. And Mike Leach threw on some blood-soaked underwear by signing Adam James in the first place. Just my .02.

And "Yes," ESPN should call the game and make every attempt to avoid even talking about the ordeal. But, "it's news," I suppose.

Ranger Tom

01-03-2010, 11:19 AM

My favorite part of the broadcast was when one guy asked the other to talk about the first half, and what he made of it. The second guy then went on a long talk about how nice it was that they weren't talking about controversy anymore, only the game. He kept this up until the kickoff.

GP

01-03-2010, 11:27 AM

My favorite part of the broadcast was when one guy asked the other to talk about the first half, and what he made of it. The second guy then went on a long talk about how nice it was that they weren't talking about controversy anymore, only the game. He kept this up until the kickoff.

LOL. I know, It was pretty comical.

All ESPN did was run the ticker across the bottom of the screen, with quotes and snippets about the ordeal. The whole game.

They talked about it the whole time. The game was almost secondary to the conversation about TTU and Leach. Any time the players did well on the field, they panned the camera to Ruffin McNeil and just gushed with praise over how well he was doing.

ESPN is going to start covering TTU more favorably now, I promise you they will. TTU helped out Craig James, and ESPN is like the mafia: They never forget a favor.

GP

01-03-2010, 12:12 PM

Here's some updates on how the players feel.

I always had a gut feeling that we were not hearing enough about Leach's behavior this year. The team DID seem to be up-and-down and inconsistent as compared to previous seasons.

And I think we're seeing that Mike Leach had evolved into possibly an ogre that players no longer identified with.

link to story (http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/news/story?id=4792320), with a lot of quotes from players on the whole ordeal:

Senior offensive lineman Brandon Carter, who admitted he and Leach haven't always seen eye-to-eye, said fans who were quick to pile on James -- including lustily booing him as the team headed to the locker room at halftime -- as the reason for Leach's firing don't know the entire story.

"I don't want to say anything bad about the fans, but this is not the first situation that something like this has happened [with Leach]. This is just the first time someone stepped forward," Carter said. "I don't want fans thinking that Adam James did this because he was upset but it was just kind of the last straw, and sooner or later something was going to come out. This is the first situation that someone spoke up about.

"We always thought that Mike Leach was a great coach, and he always has been. This year, I don't know if it was personal issues or what not, but things just kind of turned for the worst and it just became a big distraction this year for us. And I think that's one reason we were so up and down this year, because some of the things that he said to his players and some of the things that were done. People just didn't cope with that."

For being an offensive lineman who has tattoos on his skull and wears eye shadow, he speaks his mind pretty well.

Baron Batch had this to say:

Batch also defended James, the son of ESPN analyst Craig James, who accused Leach of mistreating the sophomore receiver the day after he sustained a "mild" concussion.

"The best thing right now is just to move on. What happened happened, that's in the past now. Being mad about it won't help," Batch said. "You know, I love Adam. I support him 100 percent, and the administration did what they had to do. The Double-T, it's bigger than one person and I hope people realize that it's bigger than me, it's bigger than Ruff, it's bigger than one person. The thing that Ruff knows is, he holds that to be true: The Double-T is bigger than just one person."

I think Mike Leach became a legend in his own eyes, got cocky, and just failed to recognize how much he had alienated himself from his team.

I have been paying close attention to Ruffin McNeil last year and this year. His players LOVE him. And the result in the bowl game spoke volumes. The players want to be at TTU. You can tell they blocked out the B.S. and wanted to show everyone where their heart is.

WWJD

01-03-2010, 05:50 PM

What's the deal with Leach and pirates?

I must have missed something.

GP

01-03-2010, 05:57 PM

What's the deal with Leach and pirates?

I must have missed something.

He has a passion for the lore and history of pirates.

I suppose the way they make their own rules, which are sometimes eccentric or unconventional, has an appeal to him as well.

Oh no I knew about all that..I see my question answered in the previous post above this one...thanks anyway.

WWJD

01-03-2010, 06:00 PM

He has a passion for the lore and history of pirates.

I suppose the way they make their own rules, which are sometimes eccentric or unconventional, has an appeal to him as well.

Okey dokey..yea I get that now..I saw some signs in the crowd last night about him and pirates and was ????.

He is unorthodox for sure. Maybe he's one of those really smart guys that just is so weird you can't figure him out.

Thanks for answering.

GP

01-03-2010, 06:13 PM

Okey dokey..yea I get that now..I saw some signs in the crowd last night about him and pirates and was ????.

He is unorthodox for sure. Maybe he's one of those really smart guys that just is so weird you can't figure him out.

Thanks for answering.

He and his views on pirates made a great match for the type of university that TTU is. The mascot is a masked rider, sort of a Zorro-type of character who embodies a sort of anti-establishment type of zeal.

TTU also finds itself just trying to out-hustle teams like UT and OU, so his views on pirates added to their style of play.

Anyways, I think he got what he deserved. Though I also feel badly for him. It didn't have to go this far, and I think he is pretty stubborn about it. Meanwhile, the players are not afraid to say that his act this year had worn thin.

As a TTU fan, I also had just about had enough of Leach's bizarre moments. It became more about him being the focus of attention, IMO.

WWJD

01-03-2010, 06:52 PM

He and his views on pirates made a great match for the type of university that TTU is. The mascot is a masked rider, sort of a Zorro-type of character who embodies a sort of anti-establishment type of zeal.

TTU also finds itself just trying to out-hustle teams like UT and OU, so his views on pirates added to their style of play.

Anyways, I think he got what he deserved. Though I also feel badly for him. It didn't have to go this far, and I think he is pretty stubborn about it. Meanwhile, the players are not afraid to say that his act this year had worn thin.

As a TTU fan, I also had just about had enough of Leach's bizarre moments. It became more about him being the focus of attention, IMO.

I only saw Tech you know when they'd be on national TV against whoever..they are amazing at getting these lights out QB's...and the little receivers who can catch anything and make a ton of yards after catch. Never seen a school that can do that year after year like them.

Leach strikes me as being a real smart aleck type..real annoying type. I have heard on radio talk (mostly Dallas stations I stream) that he's not very well liked. Almost Bob Knight-ish in that respect.

Lots of UH folks on here said the Tech fans were horrible at their game this year..I think it was on here I read that. Seems I remember some incident at Lubbock against A & M some few years back...fans out of control.

I love college ball. Thanks for the insight.

GP

01-05-2010, 01:12 PM

I only saw Tech you know when they'd be on national TV against whoever..they are amazing at getting these lights out QB's...and the little receivers who can catch anything and make a ton of yards after catch. Never seen a school that can do that year after year like them.

Leach strikes me as being a real smart aleck type..real annoying type. I have heard on radio talk (mostly Dallas stations I stream) that he's not very well liked. Almost Bob Knight-ish in that respect.

Lots of UH folks on here said the Tech fans were horrible at their game this year..I think it was on here I read that. Seems I remember some incident at Lubbock against A & M some few years back...fans out of control.

I love college ball. Thanks for the insight.

I don't know if he will still go to Tech, but there is a commitment from Scotty Young of Denton Ryan High School (TX school).

He threw for 9,000 yards and 126 TDs in TWO seasons as a junior and senior. One season, he had 64 TDs which was three short of former TTU ex-QB Graham Harrell's high school record of 67 TD passes in one season.

I think Scotty Young might be a seriously dangerous QB for TTU.

badboy

01-05-2010, 01:48 PM

The carrot and the stick approaches have been used for many millennium. Many "leaders" quickly jump to the stick approach because for most, fear is a strong motivator. I experienced this in Marine boot camp in 1970 and fear can be very effective. Leach over used this in my opinion. The negative side is at least two fold. One is the person just caves in and loses all effectiveness, often can not be re-directed and can become a problem with others on the team's mission. Second is the person that from the beginning or at a later time responds differently to punishment than expected. This is the "cool hand Luke" personna exemplified by Paul Newman in that movie. If guided correctly even that person can prove effective to completing the mission but usually becomes a huge disadvantage.

WWJD

01-05-2010, 02:00 PM

I don't know if he will still go to Tech, but there is a commitment from Scotty Young of Denton Ryan High School (TX school).

He threw for 9,000 yards and 126 TDs in TWO seasons as a junior and senior. One season, he had 64 TDs which was three short of former TTU ex-QB Graham Harrell's high school record of 67 TD passes in one season.

I think Scotty Young might be a seriously dangerous QB for TTU.

Isn't that kid that came in when Potts got dinged a freshman? I forget his name now but he was a deadly passer. Against MS anyway. The announcers kept saying how he was such a fan favorite as well...

I'd be thinking about that if I was this Young kid...he might not get to play much.

bah007

01-05-2010, 02:04 PM

Isn't that kid that came in when Potts got dinged a freshman? I forget his name now but he was a deadly passer. Against MS anyway. The announcers kept saying how he was such a fan favorite as well...

I'd be thinking about that if I was this Young kid...he might not get to play much.

Steven Sheffield is a either a junior or a redshirt sophomore.

WWJD

01-05-2010, 02:12 PM

Steven Sheffield is a either a junior or a redshirt sophomore.

Sheffield..thanks. I couldn't remember his name. Team definitely responded to him. Tech is a great college QB school.